Dolly for scrubbing brush



NOV. 29, 1960 LAPPlN 2,961,686-

DOLLY FOR SCRUBBING BRUSH Filed Nov. 15, 1957 fizz e/p501 [066/292 Zappa WWW United States Patent DOLLY FOR SCRUBBING BRUSH Robert I. Lappin, 25 Shetland Road, Marblehead, Mass.

Filed Nov. 15, 1957, Ser. No. 696,778

6 Claims. (Cl. 15-246) This invention relates to apparatus for cleaning rugs and has for its principal object to provide a dolly for supporting a motor driven brush in stable equilibrium for sliding movement over the surface of a rug, with a portion of the peripheral edgeof the brush in contact with the rug without danger of the brush digging into the nap too deeply and hence without danger of loss of control of the apparatus. Other objects are to provide a dolly which will support the brush for ease of movement, which will confine such cleaning compounds, ,as are employed, to the surface of the rug, which is light in weight, easily applied to and removed from the brush so that the latter can be readied for use in either capacity quickly, is comprised of relatively few parts, is easy to manufacture and yet is durable and effective.

As herein illustrated, the dolly comprises supporting means movable along the surface to be operate'dupon, a bracket mounted near the rear end of the supporting means for holding the brush with its axis of rotation inclined to the plane of the surface to be operated upon, so that an arcuate portion of the brush will have contact with the surface and a cowl mounted near the forward end of the supporting means to cover the peripheral and end portions of the brush situated above the supporting means. The supporting means is in the form of spaced parallel narrow runners, the bracket is in the form of a split clamp ring for engagement with the housing of the brush motor and is tilted to hold the axis of the motor shaft at an angle inclined downwardly and forwardly, and the cowl is a circular hood surrounding the peripheral edge of the brush, having across its front side a diametrical wall paralleling the forward side of the brush. A handle receiving crotch is carried by the bracket to receive a portion of the brush handle behind its pivot to assist in guiding and controlling movement of the dolly as it is pushed forwardly, rearwardly and transversely of the rug.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side view partly in section and partly in elevation of the dolly, showing in dot and dash lines a single brush and motor for driving the same together with a handle; and

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the dolly with the brush and motor omitted.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the dolly has spaced parallel runners 12-12, which are rigidly connected by transversely extending spaced parallel bars 14-14. Each runner 12 in vertical section is rectangular and has at its forward and rear end an upwardly curved lip 16 constituted by an extension of its bottom wall, to facilitate sliding the runners forwardly and rearwardly on a rug without digging into the pile.

Near the rear ends of the runners behind the cross-bar 14 at that end there are fastened upwardly converging legs 1818 which carry laterally extending arcuate segments 2020. The converging legs 1818 are connected at their junction with the arcuate segments 20 by an arcuate segment 22 corresponding in radius of curvature to the segments 20, which in combination therewith forms a circular ring of such a diameter as to recelve the motor housing M of a motor driven brush B The upper extremities of the arcuate segments 2020 have spaced parallel extensions 24-24 joined by a bolt 26 and nut 27, by means of which the segments of the collar may be drawn together tightly about the motor housing. A pairof laterally offset spaced fingers 28-- 28 at the'upper ends of the extensions form a crotch for reception of the handle H of the brush, rearwardly of its pivot 32. The

downward pressure of the handle on the crotch serves to keep the unit from tipping forwardly and also helps to control movement of the unit particularly when turning it toward one side or the other. r

The supporting legs 18-18 are inclined forwardly as shownin Fig. 1, so as to support the motor M with its shaft 34 inclined forwardly and downwardly and conse{- quently to support the brush B withits peripheral edge" 38 between the runners and extending downwardly below the plane of the bottom edges of therunners. The angle' of inclination of the brush is preferably less than f and more than 45.

To prevent the centrifugal action producedby the to tating brush from throwing off cleaning compounds in all directions, a cowl 40 is placed over the brush, the" latter being fastened to the forward ends of the runnersand being constituted by a circular band 42 fastened at its opposite ends to the runners so as to extend about and to be concentric with the peripheral edge of the brush. A wall 44 issecured transversely to the forward edge of the band 42 so as to cover the front face of thebrush.

As thus constructed the dolly provides a very simple support upon which the brush may be mounted quickly and easily for use in cleaning and scrubbing rugs or other fabrics having a pile and from which it can be as quickly removed for ordinary use, which can be moved forwardly and rearwardly and from side to side over the surface of the rug with comparative ease because of the narrowness of its runners and its light weight construction and which will not scatter or splatter the cleaning compound.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A dolly for supporting a motor driven circular brush which turns on an axis coinciding with the motor shaft, comprising supporting means moveable along the surface to be operated upon, a bracket mounted near the rear end of the supporting means and including clamping means for holding the motor in clamping engagement, said clamping means being adapted to dispose the axis of the brush at an angle to the surface such that the rearward portion of the face of the brush bristles contacts the surface beneath the support and the remainder of the said face is inclined upwardly and away from said surface, and a cowl mounted near the forward end of the supporting means to cover the brush bristles above said surface.

2. A dolly according to claim 1 wherein the clamping means is adapted to dispose the face of the brush bristles at an angle to the surface greater than 45 but less than 90.

3. A dolly for supporting a motor driven brush of the kind in which the brush is connected to the motor shaft for rotation about the axis of the shaft, comprising spaced parallel runners of rectangular cross-section, said runners having upturned ends, transversely extending bars joining the runners in rigid spaced relation, a bracket mounted on the runners near their rear ends comprising upwardly converging, forwardly inclined legs and a split ring sup- Patented Nov. 29, 1 960 ported thereby, said ring being of such diameter as to embrace the motor housing, means for clamping the ring about the motor housing, the inclination of the legs being such that the motor shaft inclines downwardly and forwardly so that the plane of the brush is inclined forwardly and downwardly with reference to the plane of the runners and a portion of the periphery of the brush extends downwardly between the runners below the plane of the runners, and a cowl mounted on the forward ends of the runners for covering the peripheral edge of the brush and its forward face.

4. A dolly for supporting a motor driven brush of the kind in which the brush is connected to the motor shaft for rotation about its axis and in which a handle is pivotally connected to the motor housing to assist in propelling the brush over the floor, comprising narrow elongate runners fastened together in spaced parallel relation, a bracket mounted on the runners near their rear ends for supporting the motor above the runners with its shaft inclined forwardly and downwardly so that a portion of the peripheral edge of the brush extends downwardly between the runners and below the plane of their surfaces, and a guide carried by the bracket within which a portion of the handle, rearwardly of the pivot, is adapted to be engaged to steady the handle and to apply lateral thrust to the dolly in response to lateral shifting of the handle.

5. A dolly for supporting a motor driven brush of the kind in which the brush is connected to the motor shaft for rotation about its axis and in which a handle is pivotally connected to the motor housing to assist in propelling the brush along the floor, narrow elongate runners fastened together in spaced parallel relation, a bracket mounted on the runners near their rear ends for supporting the motor with the face of the brush inclined to the plane of the runners and with a portion of the peripheral edge of the brush extending downwardly between the runners below the plane of the runners, and a crotch carried by the bracket for receiving a portion of the handle rearwardly of its pivot.

6. A dolly for supporting a motor driven brush of the kind in which the brush is connected to the motor shaft for rotation about its axis and in which a handle is pivotally connected to the motor housing to assist in propelling the brush along the floor, narrow elongate runners fastened together in spaced parallel relation, a bracket mounted on the runners near their rear ends for supporting the motor with the face of the brush inclined to the plane of the runners and with a portion of the peripheral edge of the brush extending downwardly between the runners below the plane of the runners, and a support on the bracket situated above and to the rear of the pivot point of the handle for receiving a portion of the handle rearwardly of its pivot and downward pressure of the handle to prevent the dolly from tipping forwardly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,820,350 Dance Aug. 25, 1931 2,303,409 Taylor Dec. 1, 1942 2,307,519 Lefke Jan. 5, 1943 2,624,896 Atkin Jan. 13, 1953 2,626,412 Peterson Jan. 27, 1953 2,640,211 Peterson June 2, 1953 2,819,479 Sutton Jan. 14, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 219,092 Switzerland Jan. 31, 1942 

